1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to security devices of the type applicable to sliding doors and windows in residences and commercial buildings, and particularly to slidable deadbolt security devices for sliding door assemblies and sliding glass window assemblies; and to a slidable deadbolt security device enabling selective securement of a sliding door or window assembly in a partially open position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A preliminary patentability and novelty search in connection with this invention has revealed the existence of the following United States patents:
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In recent years, great emphasis has been placed on security in one's home. Motion sensors that energize outdoor and indoor lighting, and that even emit an audible signal, have proliferated. Since locks of conventional design can be "picked", some entry doors are devoid of conventional locks and instead use locks that respond only when a particular numeric or alphanumeric code is entered in a control panel.
In a residential environment, there is probably no easier way to gain admission to the interior of a residence than through sliding glass doors and sliding glass windows. The facility of gaining unauthorized entry to a home equipped with sliding glass doors and windows is due largely to the basic design of sliding glass doors and windows. Specifically, all that is usually necessary to remove a sliding door or window is to raise the door or window sufficiently to clear the side flanges of the lower track within which transverse sliding movement of the door or window occurs, and then merely remove the door or window out of the opening. Sliding glass doors that incorporate a transparent "slider" door portion that is mounted outside the transparent "fixed" portion of the door assembly are particularly vulnerable because of ready access to the "slider" door portion from outside the home.
Accordingly, one of the principal objects of the invention herein described and illustrated is the provision of a slidable deadbolt security device operable in cooperation with a horizontally sliding glass door or horizontally sliding glass window that enables the sliding glass door or window to be selectively conventionally locked in a closed position, or to be partially opened while being retained in its partially open position by preventing further opening and preventing lifting of the door or window from its track.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a slidable deadbolt security device for horizontally sliding glass doors and horizontally sliding glass windows that is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate into either a retracted door or window unlocked and openable condition, or a secured partially open door or window condition, and which is reliable in use.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a slidable deadbolt security device for horizontally sliding glass doors and horizontally sliding glass windows that is interchangeable between the two, i.e., a single basic security device according to the invention may be used on either a horizontally slidable glass door or horizontally slidable glass window.
The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be apparent from the following description and the drawings. It is to be understood however that the invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated and described, since it may be embodied in various forms within the scope of the appended claims.